George John Schlenker, 90, of Rock Island, passed away Wednesday September 15, 2021 at his home.

A memorial service will be held at 1:00pm Monday October 18, 2021 at Trinity Lutheran Church, Moline. The family will greet friends from 12:00pm to service time at church. Private inurnment will be in Rock Island National Cemetery. Memorials may be left for American Cancer Society or First Nations Development Institute.

George was born on July 23, 1931 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the son of Carl and Flora (Boerger) Schlenker.

He attended Fort Wayne Public Schools, later graduating from Indiana University with a bachelor's degree in 1953. He then attended University of Iowa Graduate Program and received his Master's Degree in engineering in 1968.  Simultaneously George cultivated a lifelong passion for the visual arts and Native American history.

George married Emily C. Diehl on April 28, 1962 in Moline. They divorced in 1993.

Mr. Schlenker was a United States Army Veteran.

George had been employed as a teacher at Indiana University Graduate School for one year following his graduation from the University. He then taught for the Fort Wayne Public Schools for 2 years before entering the Army. After being honorably discharged from the Army, George was employed as Operations Research Analyst with the Rock Island Civilian Service for the Department of the Army until his retirement in 1996. He received the Army Civilian Meritorious Service Award from the Department of Defense for his work on guided missile systems.  In retirement he pursued a lifelong passion for photography, winning awards for his bird portraits and exhibiting regionally.

Survivors include his children, Charles Schlenker (Sarah Curtis), Normal, IL, Lisa Anne Schlenker (Steve Gillingham), Milwaukee, WI; grandchildren, Benjamin Curtis Johnson, Ethan Curtis Schlenker; sister and brother-in-law, Alice (Paul) Mutschlecner, Los Alamos, NM, niece & nephews David, Tim, Celia.

Online condolences may be left for the family at wheelanpressly.com.